E*Trade to Offer After-Hours Trading

E*Trade Group Inc. Tuesday became the latest online broker to offer after-hours trading to its clientele.

The company Tuesday reached a deal with Instinet Corp. that will allow E*Trade customers to trade Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange issues from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern. The service will debut in September.

The agreement also gives E*Trade customers the ability to check the price of the latest trade executed on Instinet for any issue.

"What our customers want is access to opportunity and a level playing field with larger institutional investors. It's all a part of democratizing personal investing," said Christos Cotsakos, E*Trade's chairman and chief executive officer.

E*Trade is the latest to offer after-hours trading to its customers. Datek offers a similar service through its Island electronic communications network, an Instinet competitor. Muriel Siebert & Co., DLJdirect and J.B. Oxford offer similar services, although the requirements for being able to participate vary.

Tuesday's deal follows an agreement between E*Trade and Instinet to invest in Archipelago LLC, another electronic communications network.